BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)

Baker Hughes tops, raises views

The oil field services company netted 60 cents a share in Q2, 7 cents better than expected and 71% more than a year earlier. Sales rose 18% to $1.78 bil. Latin America, the Mideast and Asia led the way. Baker Hughes issued full-year guidance of $2.52-$2.60, better than Street forecasts of $2.30. Shares notched a new high of 57.90 intraday, but closed down 1% to 56.54.

Anadarko output dips, profit rises

The Houston-based oil-and-gas company earned $2.12 a share in Q2, 33% higher than a year ago but a penny under estimates. Revenue rose 10% to $1.59. Volumes fell 16% to 428,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day, offset by higher prices. Anadarko bought back 6% of its shares in Q2. It also paid down $1.4 bil of debt, which cut interest expense 24%. Shares fell 1%.

** Arena Resources, a small oil producer with operations in 4 U.S. states, made 15 cents in Q2, up 114% vs. a year ago and 2 cents over views. Sales surged 158% to $4.6 mil. Shares leapt 11% to 14.60, a record close.

BP blast investigation under way

The gov't and BP began trying to figure out the cause of Thursday's explosion at a Texas City, Texas, ...